The Irish Road Haulage Association has described the large number of learner drivers on the roads as a “major safety issue”. 

Freedom of Information figures revealed that at the end of September there were 394,128 learner drivers in Ireland - up 12,257 in six months.

On Newstalk Breakfast, Irish Road Haulage Association President Ger Hyland said too many people are facing long delays when they want to take a driving test. 

 “At a time when the RSA are saying they’ve got to get to grips with the backlog on driving tests, that driving test [waiting] times have improved, that’s not what these figures are saying to us as an organisation,” he said.  

When asked whether the figures reflect natural population growth, Mr Hyland said if that is the case then, “Surely to God they could have planned for this?” 

“It shouldn’t have happened over night, these people didn’t drop out of the sky,” he said.  

The L plate of a learner driver. Picture by: Alamy.com.

Mr Hyland added that such a large number of learner drivers is “unprecedented” and puts other road users at risk. 

“I’m saying it’s a major safety issue that one in 10 drivers on Irish roads at the present time are on some sort of a learner permit,” he argued. 

“I would also say the RSA will dispute these figures with me but these are the RSA figures that we got under the Freedom of Information Act.”

So far this year, 163 people have died on Ireland’s roads - seven more than in the same period last year.  

Mr Hyland said while coming across a road fatality is not an everyday occurrence for a haulier, it is something many of them have seen. 

“Anything that affects road safety, affects our drivers,” he added. 

“Our drivers’ workplace is the road; therefore, if it affects our drivers, it affects road safety. 

“What people don’t realise is that our drivers are coming upon life changing accidents every day of the week. 

“They may not be fatalities but they’re coming on life changing accidents. They have to go home and live with what they see.”

In a statement to Newstalk, the RSA said it had overseen "sustained improvements" in waiting times. 

"Work continues, and in October, the RSA conducted 28,198 tests, over 7,000 more than in May, at the start of the Driving Test Action Plan,"  a spokesperson said. 

"Applications remain at record levels, with 104,926 driving test applications received between July and October 2025.

"Reflecting the country’s growing population, the Driver Theory Test Service is on track to complete its highest ever number of tests.

"The service estimates that it will conduct over 220,000 tests in 2025, 7.5% more than in 2024, and 70% more than in 2019. This increase in people learning to drive is being met in the driver testing service capacity."

Main image: traffic in Dublin. Picture by: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie